Day 19

Today I was driving from Mendocino along the coast, before I hit the Redwood Forests. As the road bent around the side of a cliff, I slammed on the brakes in order to avoid hitting this guy: and his two friends, who were socializing in the middle of the road. I was afraid that they would head-butt me or something if I tried to get out to take a picture, so I decided to stay safely in the car! Soon into my drive, I realized I was close to empty on gas. That was dangerous because I doubted there would be anywhere to fill up in the next 50 miles or so. But just as I was getting nervous that I was going to have to hitch a ride on the back of my new bovine friend, I saw a gas station up ahead... with the worst prices I have seen yet:
I was so shocked that as I pumped, I said aloud to the man at the next pump, "Can you believe it? This is outrageous?" He glared at me, and that's when I realized he was filling up a Suburban, eyeing my tiny little Focus (which gets up to 35 miles per gallon on the freeway!) resentfully. I swallowed loudly and concentrated on gripping the gas pump.

Once I entered the Redwood Forests, I realized that the low-hanging fog that had been surrounding me throughout my drive so far was turning black. How strange, I thought. Then I saw the sign up ahead next to the road, with flashing letters that read, "FIRE AHEAD."
Hm.
What was I supposed to do with that information? I'd just been traveling for almost 2 hours along a winding road that was so reminiscent of a certain Mind Eraser rollercoaster that I was beginning to feel nauseated. The sign didn't say, "TURN BACK!" and there were no road blocks, so I continued on, more cautiously. I pulled over for a bathroom break at one of the many roadside turn-offs marked by creepy painted bears carved out of Redwood trees, and found this little gem:
That saying happens to be one of TWO PHRASES that I know how to say in German. The first phrase is: "Ich spreche kein Deutsch." (That means: I speak no German." The second phrase is: "Jeder muss an etwas glauben. Ich glaube, ich habe noch ein Bier." (See picture about for translation.) It's not random that I know that phrase - my dad, who kind of speaks German, taught it to me at a young age. I don't know why, but I remembered it. I marvel at the idea that, in the past 2 days, I have encountered 2 very random phrases that have reminded me of each of my parents.

As I drove on through the Redwood Forests, I decided it was time for another photo shoot. Here I am posing next to one of the biggest trees I've ever seen:

P.S. The answer to the pressing question that is no doubt bothering you is: YES, I looked like an absolute fool pressing the self-timer button on my camera and then sprinting that long distance to stand in front of the tree.